Lawn mower



1949. w. G. BERANEK ETAL 2,478,558-

LAWN MOWER 3 Sheets-Sneet 1 Filed April 18, 1945 /en ceslaus 6".Jerune/E.

:1 tto m eys 1949- w. G. BERANEK ET AL 2,478,558

LAWN MOWER Filed April 18, 1945 3 Sheets-Sneet 2 lm'mtm's wgnceslaus G.Berane k,

(:Z v W W. G. BERANEK ET AL Aug. 9, 1949.

LAWN MOWER 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 18, 1945 w m fl A a 3 9/ m 8 MM@w w Patented Aug. 9, 1949 LAWN MOWER Wenceslaus G. Beranek and ThomasT. Buresh. Touhy, Ncbr.

Application April 18, 1945, Serial No. 588,932

2 Claims. (Cl. 56-254) Our invention relates to improvements inlawnmowers; the primary object in view being to provide a rotarystraight cutter blade mower adapted to cut lawns evenly and cleanlyregardless of uneven ground, and which is easy to propel by hand,power-operated as regards cutting, simple in construction, andcomparatively inexpensive to manufacture and service.

Other and subordinate objects, also comprehended by our invention,together with the precise nature of our improvements, and the manifoldadvantages thereof, will be readily understood when the succeedingdescription and claims are read with reference to the drawingsaccompanying and forming part of this specification.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of our improved lawnmower in apreferred embodiment thereof,

Figure 2 is a view in plan,

Figure 3 is a view in longitudinal vertical sec-' ,tion taken on theline 3-3 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a view in transverse section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure3.

Reference being had to the drawings by numerals, in the preferred,illustrated embodiment thereof, our improved lawnmower comprises a pairof ground wheels I, preferably equipped with pneumatic tires 2, andmounted on stub axles 3 on a forwardly arched axle bar 4. A handle bar 5for pushing the mower is rigidly mounted on the stub axles 3, in anysuitable manner, by means of a curved yoke-forming bar 6', having rearends bolted, as at I, to opposite sides of said handle bar 5, and fronteye-like ends 8 preferably fixed on said stub axles 3. The usual handgrip bar 9 extends across the end of the handle bar 5.

A motor and cutter blade supporting rock shaft I0 extends across theaxle bar 4, forwardly and rearwardly thereof, and in the transversecenter of the same, and is Journaled in a tubular sleeve II alsoextending across said bar 4 and mounted thereon for swinging adjustmentabout the same into different set positions by means of a bottom bearingl2 on said sleeve'through which said bar 4 extends, and a set bolt l3extending through said bearing l2 to said bar 4. The rock shaft I0 isformed, at its rear end, with an upright cross bar I4 longer below saidshaft l0 than above the same. At the front end thereof, the rock shaftI0 is provided with an upright cross sleeve IS. The purpose of the crossbar and cross sleeve I! will presently appear.

An electric motor IQ, of any suitable typ is hinged at one end, as at H,to the lower end of the cross bar I4 with its armature shaft [3 extending upwardly above said bar l4 and the rock shaft l0 and providedwith a belt pulley l3 thereon.

A belt 20 extends forwardly from the pulley H to a larger pulley 2| faston the upper end of a cutter blade spindle 22 journaled in uprightposition in the cross sleeve II on the front end of the rock shaft III.

A cutter blade 23 is fixed, intermediate its ends, on the lower end ofthe cutter blade spindle 22 by a nut 24. The cutter blade 23 is providedwith cutting edges 25 extending half-way along the opposite sidesthereof and with curved ends 28 curving in the direction of rotation ofsaid blade, indicated by the arrow in Figure 2, to facilitate attaininga sickle-like cutting action.

A pair of rod-like, ground-engaging runners 2'1 support the rock shaftl0 forwardly of the axle bar 4 and space the cutter blade 23 above theground, as shown in Figure 3. The runners 21 each comprises an upturnedfront end 23, and a right angled rear end shank extending upwardly, asat 23, and then inwardly, as at 30, toward the rock shaft l0 andterminating in an upstanding, vertically slotted bar 3|. The bars 3| areadjustably clamped to opposite sides of the rock shaft III, in front ofthe sleeve II, by a bolt 32 extending through the bars 3! and through asleeve I II on said rock shaft l0, and a second bolt 33 extendingthrough said bars 3! and through a pair of upstanding lugs 34 on thesleeve Ill. As best shown in Figure 2, the runners 23 are disposedequidistantly upon opposite sides of the axis of rotation of the cutterblade 23. Also, as will be seen, the runners 23 are verticallyadjustable by means of the slotted bars 3| and bolts 33. 34 to vary theheight of the cutter blade 23 from the ground, for high or close cuttingoperations.

An annular, preferably sheet metal guard 35 surrounds the cross sleevel5, above the cutter blade 23, to function as a fender for fendingweeds, branches and the like away from said cutter blade. For thispurpose, the guard 35 is formed with a lower edge 36 incliningdownwardly and forwardly close to the cutter blade 23. At its rearsldersaid guard 35 rests on the rock shaft I 0 in front of the lugs 34and is fixed to said shaft III by an angle bracket-"31 bolted to theguard 35 and to the rock shaft I I, as a 33, 33.

A set collar 40 on the rock shaft Ill, together with the cross bar I 4,confine the rock shaft I! in the sleeve ll against endwise movement.

A set screw 4| in the upper end of the cross bar 14 bearing against themotor It, at its upper end,

as'rasss 3 provides for swinging said motor rearwardly to take up slackin the belt ll and to prevent the motor ll from vibrating onthe hinge H.

ground. the runners 21 gliding over the ground to place the cutter blade23 so as to mow at a uniform height, regardless of uneven ground, or atravel of the ground wheels 2 over humps and hol lows, the rock shaft l0oscillating in the sleeve II to permit the runners 21 to always engagethe ground and thereby prevent the cutter blade 23 from being tilted bysuch uneven travel of the ground wheels. As will be clear, the weight ofthe rock shaft Ill and the parts carried thereby forwardly of the axisof the ground wheels I overbalances said rock shaft ID to maintain therunners 21 on the ground. The arched axle bar 4 provide a crank armfacilitating tilting of the runners 21 upwardly off the ground, bydownward pressure on the handle bar 5, when it is desired to propel themower, without mowing, and in turning the same around. As .shown in thedrawings, it'is preferable that the cutter blade 23 inclines forwardlyand downwardly slightly to cut in front of the axis of rotation thereof.The motor IE,

it will be noted, is suspended, in greater part, below the axis of therock shaft ill to counterweight said shaft so as to cause the runners 21to hug the ground.

The foregoing will, it is believed, suflice to impart a clearunderstanding of our inventiorrwithout further explanation.

Manifestly, the invention, a described, is susceptible of modificationwithout departing from the inventive concept, and right is hereinreserved to such modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What we claim is:

1. In a lawnmower, a cross-bar adapted for mounting a pair of groundwheels on the ends thereof, a bearing On said cross-bar, a rock shaftextending substantially horizontally across said cross-bar andjournalled in said bearing for oscillation therein, a sleeve on one endof said shaft perpendicular to the same, a rotatable spindle journalledin said sleeve with ends extending out of the ends of the sleeve andadapted for attachment of a cutter blade to one end thereof, a pairoscillation to thereby- 'ofrunnersiixedtosaidshafttoengagetheground andoscillate the shaft when running over uneven ground to thereby adjustthe sleeve and spindle into a position perpendicular to the ground, anda motor operatively connected to the other end of the spindle andmounted on the other end of said shaft with its maior portion di posedbelow the axis of the shaft whereby said motor tends to counterbalancethe shaft against gaged with the ground.

2. In a lawnmower. a cross-bar adapted for mounting a pair of groundwheels on the ends thereof, a bearing on said cross-bar, a rock shaftextending substantially horizontally across said cross-bar andjournalled in said bearing for oscillation therein, a sleeve on one endof said shaft perpendicular to the same, a rotatable spindle Journalledin said sleeve with ends extending out of the ends of the sleeve andadapted for attachment of a cutter blade to one end thereof, a pair ofrunners fixed to said shaft to engage the ground and oscillate the shaftwhen running over uneven ground to thereby adjust the sleeve and spindleinto a position perpendicular to the ground, and a motor operativelyconnected to the other end of the spindle and mounted on the other endof said shaft with its major portion disposed below the axis of theshaft whereby said motor tends to counterbalance the shaft againstoscillation to thereby maintain the runners engaged with the ground,said operating con nections comprising a belt and pulley drive betweenthe motor and said spindle, the mounting for the motor being pivotal andsaid motor overbalanced on said mounting to swing under the influence 0dgravity in a direction to tighten the belt and pulley drive.

- WENCESLAUS G. BERANEK.

THOMAS T. BURESH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,189,519 Word July 4, 19161,202,472 Binford Oct. 24, 1916 2,167,222 Shelor July 25, 1939 2,253,452Urschel Aug, 19, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 498,393 GreatBritain Jan. 6, 1939 tip the runners en

